The Northey Arms:
Mayhem and Mirth in 1934
David Ibberson, January 2014
Like all buildings, the Northey Arms has many stories of people and events to tell. We hope that this story of landlady Maisie Gay
will bring a smile to your face.
Cast your mind back to the year 1934. At the rear of the Northey Arms is a small gathering of notables to witness Maisie Gay lay a foundation stone on an extension being built to the existing public areas. But who was Maisie Gay?
Maisie started her career as a chorus girl; her first appearance was in Blackpool in 1903. Ensuing years saw her blossom as a singer, comedian and actress. In 1924 she appeared in Noel Coward's London Calling, his first publicly produced musical work. By 1924 she was also the owner of the Northey Arms as well as an international star.
You can see a short extract from London Calling below with Maisie singing There’s Life in the Old Girl Yet. I think you would agree, she might not win ‘X Factor’, but she would take ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ by storm. You can see from this hilarious film clip that she was a formidable talent.
Maisie started her career as a chorus girl; her first appearance was in Blackpool in 1903. Ensuing years saw her blossom as a singer, comedian and actress. In 1924 she appeared in Noel Coward's London Calling, his first publicly produced musical work. By 1924 she was also the owner of the Northey Arms as well as an international star.
You can see a short extract from London Calling below with Maisie singing There’s Life in the Old Girl Yet. I think you would agree, she might not win ‘X Factor’, but she would take ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ by storm. You can see from this hilarious film clip that she was a formidable talent.
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Many show business personalities either stayed or visited the Northey Arms (including Noel Coward). They amused themselves and entertained customers by pulling pints for locals.[1]
Another visitor was the actress and singer Evelyn Laye who in the 1920s and 1930s starred in several musical comedies and operettas before appearing on Broadway and in serveral Hollywood films. |
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Why did Maisie choose Box? You would be excused if you thought she stepped off the train and fell in love with the area. You could have speculated that she performed at The Palace Theatre of Varieties, Bath (opposite the Theatre Royal, which was far too grand for Maisie's style). Perhaps she decided to stay outside Bath and used the train to come to Box.
The Northey Hotel was Box's railway station hotel whose address was traditionally Station Road. (By the way, have you ever wondered about the small entrance to the Northey on the London Road? This was originally the back entrance to the hotel, the front being on Station Road. It was re-configured in the 1960s after the Beeching railway cuts closed Box's station.)
But this isn't what local resident Victor Painter remembered. He recalled in Kingsdown Memories that Maisie came here for family reasons.[2] Mrs Noble, Maisie's mother, had bought a cottage at Ashley and settled here making many alterations. Victor recalls:
Miss Maisie Gay was married to a Mr. Drew Harris, who later came to live at Mrs. Noble's cottage, later the whole cottage was rebuilt to a very fine big house and the gardens were all laid out by experts with rockery etc. And the house was named The Whirligig, an early film that Miss Maisie had starred in many years before. Later Mr. Drew Harris and Miss Maisie took over the Northey Arms Inn, Ashley Box.
While Maisie may have spent her spare time at the Northey, she continued to perform on stage and screen throughout the 20’s and early 30’s. Maisie died in London in 1945.
It is interesting that we have another contemporary account of Maisie and one which connects her directly with Box’s own Vicar of Mirth, the Reverend George Foster. Katherine Harris tells of a radio broadcast that she listened to as a child in the 1920s broadcast from the Northey featuring Maisie, Evelyn and compared by the Reverend Foster, perhaps the first (but not the last time) that Box has appeared on national media.
Did Maisie encourage the erstwhile cleric and introduce him to her theatrical friends or did George harbour the wish to be a Music Hall artist? We will never know.
The Northey Hotel was Box's railway station hotel whose address was traditionally Station Road. (By the way, have you ever wondered about the small entrance to the Northey on the London Road? This was originally the back entrance to the hotel, the front being on Station Road. It was re-configured in the 1960s after the Beeching railway cuts closed Box's station.)
But this isn't what local resident Victor Painter remembered. He recalled in Kingsdown Memories that Maisie came here for family reasons.[2] Mrs Noble, Maisie's mother, had bought a cottage at Ashley and settled here making many alterations. Victor recalls:
Miss Maisie Gay was married to a Mr. Drew Harris, who later came to live at Mrs. Noble's cottage, later the whole cottage was rebuilt to a very fine big house and the gardens were all laid out by experts with rockery etc. And the house was named The Whirligig, an early film that Miss Maisie had starred in many years before. Later Mr. Drew Harris and Miss Maisie took over the Northey Arms Inn, Ashley Box.
While Maisie may have spent her spare time at the Northey, she continued to perform on stage and screen throughout the 20’s and early 30’s. Maisie died in London in 1945.
It is interesting that we have another contemporary account of Maisie and one which connects her directly with Box’s own Vicar of Mirth, the Reverend George Foster. Katherine Harris tells of a radio broadcast that she listened to as a child in the 1920s broadcast from the Northey featuring Maisie, Evelyn and compared by the Reverend Foster, perhaps the first (but not the last time) that Box has appeared on national media.
Did Maisie encourage the erstwhile cleric and introduce him to her theatrical friends or did George harbour the wish to be a Music Hall artist? We will never know.
References
[1] www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/features/coward.shtml
[2] Victor Painter, Kingsdown Memories at http://www.choghole.co.uk/victor/victormain.htm
[3] See more at the archives tab Katherine Harris, Up the Hill and Down the Hill
[1] www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/features/coward.shtml
[2] Victor Painter, Kingsdown Memories at http://www.choghole.co.uk/victor/victormain.htm
[3] See more at the archives tab Katherine Harris, Up the Hill and Down the Hill
Licensees of Northey Arms
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Date
1848 (Railroad Tavern) 1859 (Northey Arms) 1872 - Feb 1874 Feb 1874 - Nov 1893 Nov 1893 - Sept 1903 Sept 1903 - Aug 1904 Aug 1904 - Nov 1932 Nov 1932 - Nov 1935 Nov 1935 - May 1956 May 1956 - June 1957 June 1957- April 1969 April 1969 - April 1971 April 1971 - May 1976 May 1976 - Feb 1978 Feb 1978 - Oct 1988 Oct 1988 - Jan 1990 Jan 1990 - |
Licensee
Henry Shewring John Hales Ellen Dyer Ann & Mary Dyer Walter Shewring Herbert Blore Henry Osborne Moody Oscar Drewe Harris Leonard James Read Sydney Lawrence Edwards Edward Percy Hassall Jones Eric Freeman-Keel (or Kell) Michael Papodopoulos Christopher Jan Colbourne Evan John & Nigel David Crowther-Jones Mark Chapman, Richard Stevens etc |
Owner where known
- - Mary Ann Shewring Home United Breweries Wadsworth |
Owner's dates
- - 1872 - 1911 1911 - 1921 1921 - |
Thanks to Claire Dimond who traced the licensees from the start of the pub until 1988 from Wiltshire History Centre using Register of Alehouse 1822-7, Kelley’s Directories of 1848, 1855 & 1859 and the Register of Licensees from 1872-1988.